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Praxis Center loan extension recommended by BLDC; commission concurs and places request on file
Summary
Butte Local Development Corporation staff asked the council to concur with a second loan modification extending the deadline for construction financing; the council voted 12‑0 to concur and place the request on file.
Butte‑Silver Bow commissioners on Jan. 22 concurred with a request from the Butte Local Development Corporation (BLDC) to authorize a second loan modification for the Praxis Center financing and placed the matter on file.
Kelly Sullivan, BLDC director, said Praxis asked for an extension of the deadline to obtain construction financing from July 2024 to April 30, 2025; the borrower is making interest‑only payments in the meantime. The council voted 12‑0 to concur with communication 2025‑35 and place the modification on file.
Sullivan said the BLDC loan committee recommended the extension after reviewing the borrower’s progress; the portion of the total loan coming from the Anaconda‑ARCO loan fund was stated in the meeting as $221,009.59. Sullivan said the total financing package for the Praxis project is “right around $800,000.”
Ray Rogers, representing the Praxis Center, told commissioners the project has been under development for several years and that COVID‑era and market changes increased construction costs. He said the borrower is current on interest payments and property taxes and is working with an institutional investor; Rogers said the investor would conduct a roughly 60‑day due diligence period if the investor proceeds following a planned Feb. 5 meeting.
Commissioners asked for more detail on repayment and the loan structure. Sullivan confirmed the modification under consideration extends the borrower’s deadline to finalize construction financing and allows interest‑only payments to continue through the extension; she said the loan committee would revisit the file if the council declined the modification request.
The council recorded a 12‑0 vote to concur with the BLDC recommendation and to place communication number 2025‑35 on file. Staff said no additional BLDC fees were required for the document modification and that staff would continue to monitor the borrower’s progress and report back to the commission.
